Friday, May 1, 2009

The Non-Prom

It's prom season. I remember my prom. Or rather my non-prom. Baptist minister's daughters don't go to dances--at least they didn't back then. My boyfriend (the house hunk) was a tad put out at that. He asked me to take him to my prom. My folks said a rather emphatic , "No". And that was it.

So he came up with the idea of us having a really nice date. We planned a nice steak dinner, and a few games of bowling. It was hotter than you know where with about ninety-eight percent humidity. I rushed home from school, took a cool bath (no shower at our apartment) and dressed in a very simple classic white dress with white strappy sandals.

He picked me up in his 59 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible and we were off! First we went to a restaurant on the north side, the Black Angus. I have no idea if it's still there or not, but it was very, very nice. We were seated in a cool dark booth that was quiet and private. Dinner was delicious. Finally when we were replete, we went out to the car.

Which had about three inches of water inside. He'd left the top down since it was such a nice night. And while we were inside the restaurant, all that heat and humidity boiled up in quite a storm.

So after opening the doors so the water swooshed out, he dug a blanket out of the trunk to cover the seats and we went in search of a bowling alley. We played several games. I seem to remember winning one and that was a big deal for me because I was a terrible bowler.

And eventually he took me home. When I exchanged prom stories with my girlfriends later, there was a certain amount of vindication. I had been subjected to quite a bit of teasing the week before because my parents didn't allow me to go to the dance. Seems most of them were caught out in the rain storm and ended up with ruined hair dos and wet dresses.

Very cool. I went to mine and had great fun with all my friends, though my "date" was just a buddy who wanted to go and didn't have a girlfriend. Since he was a junior, he wasn't eligible on his own, but he was moving that summer, so it was his last big night with our friends.

It was great because I have no bad memories associated with a break up--and feel nothing but fondness when I see the pictures of me and my buddy. Whereas my best girl friend had a terrible break up later in the summer and burned all her prom pictures.

Want to know more?

Anny Cook

Come on in...take time to browse...and if the spirit moves you, leave a comment!

**Copyright Notice**All written materials featured on this blog are protected under copyright. Any use of part or all of this material without the express written permission of the author is an infringement of personal creative property and subject to legal action.

Anny Cook's Webpage

Reader, author, wife, parent and grandmother, Anny Cook fits it all in her busy life. Now officially retired, she started writing in 2005 when she found herself at loose ends after yet another move. To date she has twenty-three published titles ranging from a Quickie, Everything Lovers Can Know to a plus novel, Shadows on Stone. She has three series—Mystic Valley, Flowers of Camelot, and Tuatha Treasures.